Thrifty Truffles (Leftover Cookie Truffles)

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Throwing away pastry is not something I am happy to do, and yet I did it many times. The cakes I was offered and which were not to my taste, the leftover, slightly dried ones, or the failures of my baking experiments…. All ended up in the bin. A couple of months ago I learnt how to transform those into cute truffles, which often taste so good no one will guess they are just an alternative to the kitchen bin. The secret to the good taste is the rum, so if you don’t like rum, don’t try this recipe. (I can’t guarantee the result with other types of alcohol).

The recipe has Polish origins, the leftover truffles being called “bajaderki”, “kasztany” (chestnuts) or “kartofelki” (small potatoes), depending on the region, and are made in almost every Polish bakery shop with… leftover cakes and baking failures. The below recipe is based on several different ones found on internet, in the forums and on the advice I found before preparing my first batch of these truffles. Since every time I prepare them, the “base” cake or cakes are different, every batch of truffles tastes different and the ingredients have to be adjusted. The important thing is to taste the “dough” during the making process, adjust its consistency and composition to our taste.

WARNING! Only “dry” cakes, cookies and biscuits, i.e. without cream, can be used here.

Preparation: 15 minutes + one night in the fridge

Ingredients (the amounts are only given as an example):

200 g leftover cakes, cookies, biscuits (crumbled)

5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

50 ml hot water

10 flat tablespoons slightly tangy jam (red fruit or plum)

10 flat tablespoons ground nuts or almonds (these are not obligatory)

50 – 100 ml rum

ground nuts/ground almonds/cocoa/dessicated coconut or chocolate to coat the truffles

Put the crumbled cakes into a big bowl.

Dissolve the cocoa in the hot water and add it to the crumbles.

Add the nuts, the rum and knead the dough with your hands, adding the jam gradually until the ingredients are combined and the dough has a consistency thick enough to form balls.

Taste the dough and add more jam if it’s not sweet enough.

Add more hot water if the dough is too dry and more cocoa if you find the cocoa taste not strong enough.

Form walnut-sized truffles and coat them in ground nuts/ground almonds/cocoa/dessicated coconut.

(I simply put the truffles and on of the above in a big bowl and shake it a bit.)

You can also coat them with melted chocolate.

The above truffles were made with ground almonds and coated with coconut.

Put them into the fridge at least overnight, but I find them better after 48 hours.

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